I am currently in the process of building a matte/concept art portfolio for film or gaming (cinematics) and I was curious what are some good images/concepts to have in your portfolio. I suppose the range is quite large as you could have city, landscape, futuristic, etc mattes that show a range. Is there something specifically studios like to see in a portfolio for consideration in an entry-level Matte Painter position? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Matellis

01-07-2007, 04:41 PM

Hey Ram , I am actually in the same position as you. For me I came up with a list of projects.

but also I will do a couple character concepts and one 3D model character because I enjoy that as well, thou they probably wont make it to my reel but I will add them to my website.

I think just a couple of your best mattes will do. quality over quantity.

Also they might want to see how well you can draw and paint. Not that I really know for sure but I am just going by what I see on most professional matte painters websites :)

Cheers

Velarion

01-08-2007, 05:10 AM

yes exactly, I'm too very keen in a succesful showreel and now I dive into creating 2d concepts&illustrations.Studios give very high attention to painting capabilities I think.Also I saw in Dreamworks's job openings that they want traditional art experience too.But not every studios of course.good luck:thumbsup:

Inlakechh

01-08-2007, 10:07 PM

Yes I agree with you and think that some traditional art knowledge is fundamental for matte painting. Velarion your Reel looks very nice by the way.

rambhat

01-08-2007, 11:17 PM

Yeah I agree with you Matellis.
But I guess my question was more specific. I was thinking more along the lines of what specifically would be good to have in a matte portfolio? Day to Night? Summer to Winter? Cityscape? Sky replacement? 3-D Projection shot? And so on.

I've done a lot of what you wrote and am now just busting out speedpaints to keep myself trying and learning new things.

Matellis

01-08-2007, 11:34 PM

I would say all that you mentioned there would be good , show that you can do more than just mountians , or city. I remember Dylan Cole saying in an interview once that you dont want to be know in the field as the person who paints with green.
Camera projects would be great too since more and more studios use it now. But if your applying for an internship and you didnt have camera projection it would be ok i think since they know your just starting out and probably dont have 3000$ to just go out and buy a 3d package.(i could be wrong)

I think you could show that you can do different types of mattes and what your capable of with 3 to 5 mattes in your reel.And from what I hear just one so so peice in your demo reel turn someones head away from your work so its very important that you just put your best stuff even if your reel ends up being 30 secs long.

I probably when a bit off topic there but hey its all good!

Cheers

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